Soda and sweet drinks

The leading sentence in this article from U.S. News and World Report says it all.

"On any given day, half the people in the United States guzzle a sugary beverage like soda, sports drinks, or sweetened bottled water."

This leads up to nearly 175-273 extra calories per day.  To be clear, these are calories that you don't need.  There is no nutritional value and absolutely no positive health impact that these calories bring.  No vitamins, no minerals, no phytonutrients, no benefit.

As the article states, it's easy to dismiss this as a mere 175 calories.  But understand that when we talk about "empty calories" that is really a misnomer.  Those words mean the calories are empty of nutrients.  But it doesn't mean that those calories have no effect.  Actually, rather than saying "empty calories", we should call them "harmful calories."

There is a significantly increased risk of diabetes and metabolic syndrome in people that consume these sugary drinks regularly.  To put this in perspective, there are 26 million American diabetics and almost 80 million with metabolic syndrome.  That's over 100 million Americans with a significant blood sugar problem.  With a population of about 310 million (about 1/3 kids and 2/3 adults), that means about 1 in 2 American adults has a blood sugar problem.

So look around you.  In a football stadium filled with 80,000 screaming fans.  About half of them currently suffer from a blood sugar disorder that could have been easily prevented. This will lead to fatigue, some cancers, heart disease, mood disorders, chronic pain and a lot more.  

I suppose from a certain point of view, you could still argue that the 1 can of sugar soda per day is not a dealbreaker.  Maybe... maybe not.  But imagine if your childing is failing out of school because he is having a hard time keeping up.  Then he argues, "Mom- I just want to watch 30 minutes of TV after dinner.  What's wrong with that?"  Most of us could agree that for a straight A student, perhaps it's no big deal.  But when you're coming from behind, every moment counts.  Once you fall further behind, it becomes even harder to catch up.  Most of us has experienced this at some point in our life; in school, at work, with debt.

One out of 2 Americans are "behind" when it comes to their health.  That sugar soda a day is certainly not the sole determining variable.  But it certainly doesn't help matters.

Sugary Drinks and Blood Pressure

Sugary drinks are terrible stuff.  They increase the risk of diabetes, obesity and are nutritionally bankrupt.  A new study shows that it may also increase blood pressure.

This article states that the average American drinks 2.3 sugary beverages per day.  This is in addition to the  sugar we take in our cookies, pies, cakes and the refined carbohydrates in our white breads, pastas and other treats.  Lowering sugar intake cut both diastolic and systolic readings in participants.

While the total decline in blood pressure isn't mind-blowing, keep in mind that cutting sugar consumption will also decrease weight, decrease inflammation, help manage insulin resistance and a host of other things that one wouldn't directly related to blood pressure.  Taken as a package, it seems a good idea to drop the sugary beverages.

Soda Tax

I've written about a so called, "fat tax" in previous posts.  Another concept thrown around every few years is the idea of a "soda tax."  Proponents argue that taxing sodas approximately 1 cent per ounce would "kill two birds with one stone."  First, it would raise much needed revenue.  Second, it would potentially decrease soda consumption and improve the health of individuals in that area.

While there has been some debate on the efficacy of a soda tax, it's been in the news recently as Washington DC recently wrestled with the idea of implementing a soda tax within the district.  

I read this Wall Street Journal blog recently that shared some good information and wanted to pass it along.